Xion's Breakaway
by Ouka-Noir
Summary: In the dream, I was at my old home in a town whose name I'd forgotten ages ago. The old house was almost soothing to me at first then I'd feel the heat from a hidden danger and feel it beginning to burn me againThe story of a young cat living her new life in an attempt to escape the past. The Past won't let up. What's worse, she has begun to have doubts about her love. LightningXOC
1. Prologue The Past still haunts

Prologue

Thunder crashed outside, making it seem that the storm would never end. Even though it was the middle of the night and in the midst of the worst thunder storm of the year, I didn't even notice the storm. I was in bed, struggling in my sleep with beads of sweat rolling down my face. The dream that had been haunting me for the past month was playing like a terrible reoccurring episode of the show called ''My Past''.

In the dream, I was at my old home in a town whose name I'd forgotten ages ago. The old house was almost soothing to me at first then I'd feel the heat from a hidden danger and feel it beginning to burn me again. I'd try to yell for my mom and dad who'd died in that fire. Wish for my older brother's strong embrace telling me it was only a terrible dream, praying that it would all end soon. And in the very end, I'd wake up knowing the only thing that would come true out of all of it was that it had ended, except not how a dream should have.

My parents had both died in the fire and my brother later hung himself in shame for not even being there to help me. I was the only survivor, with only minor burns on my arms and legs and one that would scar me for life on my back in the shape of a large aster flower.

Whenever I had this dream, that same scar would hurt like it had when the flaming plank of wood had landed on top of me while I was trying to get out. I'd been in the hospital for almost a month afterwards, and when I was released, I packed the rest of my things and left my town. Even if I had decided to go back, I had no home to go back to.

Right when a loud boom of thunder reverberated through the air, I sat bolt upright in my bed and looked around the room, as if to make sure that the fire wasn't real. Usually, it would be that I'd just sigh and go back to sleep. This time, I knew something was different.

A pain shot through my back, making me grimace and reach one arm over my shoulder to touch it. For some reason, the scar felt like it was burning.

''What the hell? What's going on?'' I muttered, noticing the searing pain as I grazed my fingers over it. It did hurt, that wasn't odd. The thing that was odd was that it seemed to be reaction to my dream for once.

I glanced up just in time to see a large flash of lightning stem out from the dark clouds that loomed heavily over the whole city.


	2. Chapter 1 bad weather, bad sign

The weather was still pretty bad a week later, more storms than ever before and more flash floods around the region. It was almost surprising that nobody had suggested they postpone the annual Summer Flower Baring ball. Even with the weather as it was, I was outside in the outdoor cafe, drinking some herbal tea and watching the news on the TV that sat in the corner of the patio like space. ''And in further news,'' Molly Fitzpatrick mused, pulling out a new set of small cue cards, ''It seems that there is an announcement about the Summer Flower Baring ball.''

My ears perked and I glanced up at the screen, as did the few other mobians who sat in the cafe. ''It has been announced that the ball will be canceled unless the rain begins to let up; all preparations have stopped for the time being.''

Moans and groans filled the cafe as the news quickly spread from table to table. 'Great. Just when I thought something good was going to happen after last week,' I groaned inwardly.

''You seem depressed.''

I blinked and looked up in surprise to see Espio standing behind my chair. ''Hey, Espio. I thought you were going home to train today?'' I said, gesturing for him to sit.

He nodded his thanks and took a seat across from me. ''I am, I was just going to go by your apartment when I saw you here and I was going to stop by and have a drink anyway so...'' Espio glanced at me and stopped talking for a moment.

''You want me to get to the point.''

I grinned. ''Is it that easy to tell?'' I sighed, taking a sip of my tea.

Espio sighed and nodded. ''Well, I called my master and I asked if I could bring a friend.''

''And?'' I pressed, leaning towards him a little.

''She said that would be fine as long as my friend doesn't get in the way of the training.''

''Alright, so who's the friend?''

Espio smirked as if I should've known who. ''You, of course,'' he snickered, kissing me lightly on the lips.

When we broke apart, I smiled a bit and nodded. ''I just wanted to make sure,'' I replied, giggling softly. Then, ''Oh! I sort of forgot to tell you that I'm going to have to work late tonight; Aerith told me we're low on staff so I have to wait on a few more tables for a few more hours.''

Espio seemed surprised then sighed and nodded. ''Its fine, I'll see you tonight. Is nine thirty alright?'' he asked standing to his feet to leave.

I thought about this then nodded. ''I'll see you there.''

He took one of my hands and kissed the back of it lightly. When he was gone, I let out a pathetic moan and threw my head down angrily on the table, making a bruise I was sure.

Lying might be one of my talents, but lying to Espio was one thing I hated doing. Alright, I admit I did lie to Espio but just barely; I did have to work late but only by about an hour. The extra two hours were to get to the office of Doctor Quack and back to my apartment in time to meet up with my team.

''Well,'' I muttered, rubbing my head and taking the last sip of my tea, ''I'd better get going to work.''


	3. Chapter 2 Change in View

My job was about halfway across New Mobotropolis; because of how large city is, the skyways were built as a quick way to travel as well as a way to view the city from the sky, traveling over and through the buildings, the skyways were the best way to travel across the whole city in minutes.

Since it was about five o'clock when I reached the station closest to where the cafe was, I was able to catch the quickest train to my stop. When I got on, I was surprised to see a familiar face, though not a good kind of familiar.

Lightning Lynx. He and Espio didn't really get along very well, being rivals and all, and then there was the thing about him being a bad guy. At first, I thought I was wrong and it was some other lynx, then, when we got to another stop and all the other passengers disembarked, he looked up and noticed me watching him.

When I thought he was going to do something, he looked back down at his lap and continued to stare blankly at his clenched fists sitting in his lap. I wasn't positive, but I felt as though something was wrong with him. ''All passengers, we are approaching our last stop for today. We're sorry to be shutting down so early, but there was an accident at the station after this one so all passengers must disembark at the next station, no exceptions.''

This hit me like a soft ball pitched at 150 miles per minute right at my forehead. When the train came to an easy stop, Lightning and I both got off and onto the platform where I halted and screamed at the top of my lungs, lightning shooting off my fur. Lightning make a quick stop and turned to look at me in surprise then noticed the lights overhead begin to blink out. ''What was that? A cat crying out in agony?'' he grimaced, looking every which way then to me.

I glared at him then quickly composed myself. ''Sorry. I'm just mad because my stop is about an hour away from where we stand now. So, Aerith is going to make me stay for an extra, extra shift which will make me later than I expected and...''

When I looked at his face and saw his expression I stopped. ''Sorry... again. When I'm mad, I talk a lot.''

Lightning smiled a bit and nodded. ''I can understand. I'm on parole and I'm seeing a therapist along with about four others and we aren't getting anywhere. If I was like you, getting angry and talking it off with random stuff, things would be a lot easier,'' he explained.

It was my turn to look at him in surprise; I had no idea he was on parole or taking therapy. I sighed and began walking. ''Well, luckily for you, when you get angry you don't let off sparks and make the light posts and anything else electronic go out,'' I mused, pushing my hands into my pockets and looked at him with calm green eyes. He blushed then began walking along side me.

''That sounds tough. Do you get mad often?''

''No. Not as often as I used to, when I was younger I mean.''

''I can understand that. When I was exiled, I got really mad.''

''At?''

''Myself, my lack of skills, the one who exiled me, and the one I used to love... Everything I guess.''

I looked at him in surprise again and sighed. ''It was the same for me when some things happened in my hometown. Those things still tend to haunt me half to death and I got mad at the whole town because of it,'' I confessed.

He sighed and nodded. Upon reaching the stairs, I hopped onto the handrail and slid down like you'd see in movies. Lightning ran down the steps at his top speed and we met at the bottom at the same time. ''So what sort of things happened?'' he asked, holding one hand out to me.

I accepted it without any hesitation and hopped down. ''To be honest, you'd be the first person I've ever told,'' I muttered, beginning to walk again with Lightning at my side.

''Alright, it would be my honor to be the first person to hear your story,'' he chuckled.

Then, I told him. Everything.

When I was finished, we were about halfway to the cafe. Lightning stared at me with shocked eyes. ''I... I never knew any of that. Who would've thought anyone could go through all of that and still be the kind hearted person she is now,'' he muttered. I looked to him in curiosity.

''You think?''

''Yeah. And I did think you had scars from like training and all, but not from a fire that happened... How long ago?''

''I don't really remember. I think it happened when I was about... maybe eleven... twelve. It's honestly a bit of a blur to me.''

''Does it hurt?''

I hesitated to answer his question this time. ''It started to at the beginning of this month about the same time I started having those bizarre dreams about the fire and everything. I called Dr. Quack and made an appointment for after work. I hope he can prescribe come medication to help me sleep a bit better.''

Lightning watched me, and then he seemed to brighten. ''Hey, I've got an idea!'' he exclaimed, coming to a halt and grabbing my elbow to spin me around. ''Why not come to my therapy session and give me and my group some inspiration?'' he explained.

I blinked and stared at him for a moment. Then, ''I'm not sure. I have breakfast shift in the morning and lunch rush and-''

''When do you have a break from work?'' he grumbled.

''Two forty-five until four fifty.''

Lightning smiled and nodded. ''You can stop by when class begins at three thirty, I'll tell the Doc tonight.''

I was stunned, speechless. ''Uh... Lightning, I'm sorry, but I'm not good at explaining things to a big audience,'' I muttered, touching his hand still clasping my elbow.

Lightning blinked and shook his head. ''It'll only be four or five people total! That's not a big audience at all, just a small gathering of friends. Don't worry about it; they won't even say anything they'll just listen.''

I thought about this then sighed and shook my head. ''I'll think about it, I have work and a few things going on during the next week, so I'll try.''

Lightning punched the air happily and smiled at me. ''Alright, thanks, Xion. And I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfterable.''

I shook my head then a different voice spoke up, one I wasn't hoping to hear until five minutes in the future. ''Well, she will be feeling uncomfterable in a few seconds.''

I grimaced and turned, Lightning still holding my elbow. Standing before us was a slim chipmunk with short cropped blue hair with faint curls, brown fur, blue eyes, wearing a gray t-shirt with a skull and crossbones on it, jean skirt with fringed edges, fingerless gloves, black knee-high converse with red streaks, and a black choker with a skull hanging off of it. Though her name seemed very elegant and almost princess like, she herself was very gothic and was more like a punk princess of hell. ''Hi, um, Aerith. I was on my way there but...'' I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Aerith watched me with glaring eyes then shifted her eyes to Lightning. ''And who's he?''

I was still unsure of what to say. ''Uh, I should get going,'' Lightning said, releasing my elbow slowly and begging to leave when I stopped him.

''Thanks, for earlier. It was... Nice.''

Lightning blinked in surprise and nodded. ''Yeah, and here's my thanks for listening to what I had to say,'' he muttered, kissing my cheek lightly then nodding a goodbye to Aerith and ran back up the hill we'd first come down.


	4. Chapter 3 Truth be told

''I thought you already had a boyfriend.''

For about the fifth time, I let out a loud groan, and for the first time, slammed my head into the nearest wall which made a loud crashing sound. ''For the last time, I do, and before you even go there, he wasn't anyone special just a friend,'' I grumbled, straightening and pushing my hair back.

Aerith still didn't seem to believe me at all. ''Whatever, Kid.''

I watched her and flopped down at the chopping board. ''Remind me why I have to stay later than is needed?'' I grumbled.

Aerith watched me then tossed a rag at me. ''Because you were late and you said you wanted to take two hours off today, thus you owe me two or five hours of extra work because you were three hours late and needed two hours off.''

I watched her out of the corner of my eye then got an idea. ''What if I treat you to anything for a whole hour?''

Aerith stood there for a moment then glanced at me. ''Really? A whole hour?''

I nodded.

Aerith watched me, unconvinced, and smiled. ''Alright, but tomorrow you are going to treat me to an omelet and bacon right off the pan.''

''Deal.''

I sighed in relief then began to think about what had happened only a minute or so ago. Lightning had been so kind and, for some reason, understanding even though I had never actually talked about it to anyone and only thought about it as a dream.

I glanced at the clock and sighed again, grabbing my apron and hanging it on the rack before heading out the door.

It took much less time to run to my house and Dr. Quacks Office in only a few minutes. ''Hello, Xion, how are you doing?'' Nurse Mila asked as I sprinted past. I turned to look at her over my left shoulder and smiled. ''Fine, Mrs. Mila! I can't wait to see your baby!'' I hollered back to her.

Nurse Mila smiled and touched her large stomach. I couldn't help it; Mila was a very kind lady who nobody could hate. Dr. Quack was waiting at the entrance to his office when I turned the corner. ''Hello, Xion, seems you're as energetic as usual!'' he mused. I gain a stern look and nod to him.

''I need you to do something other than what I told you about over the phone,'' I admitted.

Dr. Quack seemed confused until I explained.


	5. Chapter 4 Time of fighting

Old fashion jazz music played loudly inside the casino I stood outside, looking at the small slip of paper that Dr. Quack had given me. It wasn't my first time going to this casino but it seemed to have changed quite a bit since I'd last been there. Many of the mobians who passed me murmured small thing to one another at the sight of me.

In truth, I did stand out quite a bit from the crowd, wearing a black long sleeved hooded jacket that went to my thighs, my pale purple skirt, black boots, and a katana at my hip, the hilt decoded with two small sapphire eyes on the silver dragon carved into the hilt.

Tōhō Seiryū, my blade that was forged by a very kind wolf before he died, the Azure Dragon; able to channel my electricity through the blade. It drew quite a lot of attention to me especially from the SWATbots at the front of the casino.

'I guess this'll be one of those days,' I thought inwardly as I headed towards the four SWATbot guards.

''Halt! You may not enter wielding a weapon,'' the head SWATbot declared, holding out his hand to take my blade. ''Please hand it over until you leave the casino.''

I turned a glare on him and smirked. It was a swift act at taking all four of them down in an instant; my blade slashing their arms, legs and heads off of their torsos. The parts fell to the cement flooring and everyone stared at me with wide, surprised eyes. ''I will never part with my precious Tōhō Seiryū. He is my partner whom I am not willing to surrender to anyone, ever,'' I growled to the SWATbots that were now inoperable. Returning Tōhō Seiryū to its sheath, I entered the casino with only a few eyes still watching me.

The casino itself was large and very fancy, with luxurious furniture and painting all around the main area. ''Excuse me, Miss, but I'm afraid that you must leave here immediately.''

I smirked as three more robots approached me. ''Really? On what account would that be?'' I mused, mockingly.

The monkey robot glared at me angrily. ''On the account of you destroying our security at the front door!'' he scoffed, jumping at me with outstretched hands.

'Please tell me you're joking,' I thought inwardly, dodging his attack and swinging one leg out at his head, knocking him away and into a table nearby. The other two, a small rabbit thing and a rooster, tried a tackle only to find their legs gone.

'This is pathetic!' I sighed and looked around to see all eyes on me. I knew why, but it didn't matter to me as long as I talked to an old friend. ''Do any of you know Sleuth?'' I asked, looking around the casino.

Amongst the crowd of mobians, only one of them gestured for me to follow them. Giving a slight nod, I followed them out the back door and into an alley behind the large casino. ''Thanks for your cooperation, my name is Xion Sky,'' I explained when I caught up to the mobian.

She nodded and, now that I got a good look at her, recognized her to be Fiona Fox. ''I know who you are; we met when my honey, Scourge, attacked you all. You were good at fighting and when you took out those robots in there, I knew it was you,'' she pointed out.

I sighed and nodded, keeping my eyes on her. ''So you know where I can find Sleuth?'' I asked, continuing down the alley alongside the fox. She smiled a bit and nodded.

''At the Bottom of the Barrel Bar 'n' Grill, that's where he works now since he retired,'' she explained, leading me in the direction of the bar.

I blinked then understood why he'd work there. ''As a bartender?'' I said. Fiona nodded, turning the last corner and stopping before the bar. The last time I'd seen this rundown bar was a little after I'd met Sleuth and he gave me some good advice on living in New Mobotropolis. Now, I hoped he'd give me some different info.

When Fiona opened the door for me, I my eyes were drawn to a lynx who sat at the bar along with his teammates. He seemed to notice me and turn to look then froze. ''Ah,'' I breathed, staring at him with wide eyes. ''Ah..'' he muttered, staring at me with his own wide eyes.

Fiona looked to me in wonder then looked to the lynx. ''What's up with you two? Is there some unspoken conversation going on between the two of you?'' Fiona scoffed, getting annoyed at our unusual silence.

I felt a sharp stab in my heart and shook my head. ''It's nothing, Fi. Just…'' I looked at Lightning and smiled at him lightly. ''A little coincidence is all,'' I explained. Lightning returned my smile and nodded.

Fiona looked back and forth between us and sighed. ''Whatever, just come on in,'' she grumbled, grabbing my arm and pulling me into the bar.

When Lightning's teammates turned to look at me in wonder, I now knew why I felt unease before I entered. Team Destrctix. They were all supposed to be in the No Zone, the jail for the worst of the worst; especially their new leader, Scourge the Hedgehog. He stared at me then trailed his gaze to the sword on my waist as we approached.

''Nice sword,'' he mused, eyeing it with greedy eyes. I smirked and placed my right hand on the hilt.

''Tōhō Seiryū chooses his wielder, not the other way around,'' I muttered, moving the sheath up a bit in case I had to draw the blade within.

He cocked his eyebrow in confusion then shrugged and took a sip of his drink. I watched him for a moment then noticed Lightning gesturing for me to sit next to him. I took my seat and almost a second later, ''What are you doing here?''

I looked into his eyes to see worry. ''I needed to talk to a friend of mine who works here now. I think you know him,'' I explained, giving him a reassuring look.

Lightning continued to gaze at me with his worried look, unsure of my answer. I smiled at him once more and he blushed. I blinked once and looked at him again; either it was he lights, or he'd actually blushed.

''Either way,'' he muttered, concern lining his voice. I watched him for a moment and let out a light sigh.

''Forget I said anything, I doubt he's even here right now.''

Lightning watched me with his blue eyes and I smiled at them.

There was small chit chat here and there between his teammates, myself and Lightning throughout the night. I even began to become friends with some of them; though I was still frightened by Flying Frog.

When I finally found time to look at the clock, my heart sank in an instant. I sat in my chair, rooted to it in shock. Lightning was smiling and laughing at something the others were saying when I glanced at him with a sad glance. 'I'm gonna have a hard explaining this to the other,' I thought inwardly.

Lightning had turned to me when he noticed the look in my eyes. ''Something wrong?'' he asked. I looked to him and sighed.

''I've got to get going, I have to work in the morning and all,'' I lied, standing from my chair and heading for the door. When I heard the sound of someone leaving their bar stool, I turned to see Lightning following me.

''I'll walk you home,'' he said, then quickly added, ''If you'd like.''

I stared at him then smiled and nodded. ''I'd like that.''


	6. Chapter 5 Moonlight, destiny bright

It took a lot longer to get to my apartment than I'd expected. It might've been because of how we talked along the way, or maybe how we'd stopped for tacos as a late dinner since I hadn't eaten yet, or it might have just been that I liked what was happening right now; spending time with Lightning was a lot more time than Espio and I had ever spent together.

''I still can't believe you have a bad side to you,'' Lightning exclaimed for the umpteenth time.

I blushed and nodded sheepishly. ''I'm not sure if you'd call it a 'bad side'; it's more like and alter ego to me,'' I explained, touching Tōhō Seiryū with one hand and smiling lightly.

He looked at the sword with a sidelong glance then to me. ''So who gave you that thing anyways?''

''A wolf I met while traveling. He said that I would need it and that Tōhō Seiryū responded to me when I entered the shop almost immediately.''

''Responded to you?'' Lightning looked at me questioningly. I nodded. ''Remember when I said that Tōhō Seiryū chooses his wielder and not the other way around?'' It was Lightning's turn to nod. ''Well that's what it means; Tōhō Seiryū responded to my soul and bonded with me when I was close enough for him to touch me with his powers. Thus he chose me for something that I myself didn't know I needed.''

Lightning still seemed confused at my words. I let out a silent sigh. ''Never mind, you wouldn't understand,'' I said, pushing the idea of explaining it away.

He watched me for a moment then shrugged. I glanced up and realized we'd made it to my apartment. ''I gotta go, see ya later?''

Lightning thought it over then nodded. When he turned to leave, he halted once more and turned to me. ''Do you want to go with me to the Summer Flower Baring ball?''

I stood there dumbfounded for a few moments. ''Well… I have to work until the ball and my boss wants me to waitress the thing and-''

''Xion.''

I blinked then nodded. ''Alright.''

When he was gone, I touched one hand to my forehead and let out the breath I'd been holding in. ''What did I get myself into?''

Lightning smiled to himself and looked up at the window where he could just make out Xion in the background. He couldn't believe it, she'd actually said yes. It sort of surprised him; meeting her out of nowhere on the train like that.

From the window, Xion turned and looked up to the moon with her green eyes. He still didn't know why she hadn't mentioned Espio since they'd met. 'Maybe they broke up,' he thought inwardly with a smirk. He continued to smile as he made his way back to the casino.


	7. Chapter 6 Shadows of Doubt

Today was the first day in months that I wanted to skip seeing my team. I'd skipped the meeting by accident and now realized that I'd also forgotten about my trip with Espio that was coming up. Luckily, I'd been able to avoid them since this morning…. I was still worried that one of them would spot me and bring up the question that I wished no one would ask.

''Where have you been?''

I flinched from where I stood in the entrance of Charlotte Rosse, waiting for Aerith. I glanced around and sighed. It was just a gray cat talking to her tortishell cat friend who'd run up to her, breathless.

Being on Angle Island worried me even more, more of a chance of them finding me. ''Stop being so jittery, it isn't good for your fur.'' Aerith watched me with her blue eyes and sighed, passing me yet another bag to carry.

I muttered angrily at her then stood and followed her to the food court. ''Hasn't it been an hour already? I promised you an hour, not a day,'' I said, trying to push strands of hair out of my face. Aerith watched me for a moment and snickered.

''It's only been five minutes. I can't believe your already annoyed; it's a new record.''

I grimaced and looked around once more. ''Why did you want to come to Angle Island anyways? All the stores are sold out of anything good because of the Summer Flower Baring.''

Aerith watched me for a moment then took a seat at a booth. ''No reason, I just thought you should find a dress for it.''

Now I was annoyed. ''I don't ''need ''a dress! I have to work during the ball.''

''Then what about that lynx you were with the other night? Aren't you going with him?''

I blushed madly and shook my head. ''Hell no!''

Aerith seemed to know I was lying and smiled at me warmly. ''Yeah, sure.''

I thought about it for a moment then caved. ''If I had to wear a dress,'' I'm pretty sure I just saw Aerith smirk, ''what would you suggest?''

Aerith smiled at me and leaned forward, keeping my eyes on hers. ''I'll find you something at our next stop,'' she said, glancing out of the corner of her eye at something to my right. ''Besides.'' I glanced at Aerith, almost expecting her to have that ''I know something you don't'' look on her face. ''I think you and that lynx are a better couple than that chameleon friend of yours.''

I sighed and thought about it for a moment. Maybe she was right; maybe Lightning did suite me more than Espio did.

Lightning continued to smile as Scourge went around ranting loudly to the team, yelling at them to ''move their lazy butts'' and ''do something worth wild''. Lightning ignored all of it; all he could think about was Xion and the expression he'd seen on her face when she smiled at him. There was something about her that made him happy, happier than he'd ever been.

''So how was the walk?''

Lightning blinked and looked up to see Fiona watching him curiously. ''Fine,'' he muttered. Fiona continued to watch him with the same wondering expression.

''There was something odd about her, don't you think?'' she said, bringing the rest of the team into the conversation.


End file.
